Fragrance sampling devices in which fragrance-releasing material is carried on a substrate are widely used in advertising and promotion of perfumes and similar products. Such devices typically have very small droplets of perfume oil incorporated in microcapsules of rupturable wall material such as gelatin or urea-formaldehyde, with the microcapsules being deposited as a coating on a paper substrate of a magazine insert or direct mailer. To prevent premature release of the fragrance, coated areas of the substrate are enclosed in a removable cover sheet, which the recipient is encouraged to remove to gain access to the encapsulated product.
Microcapsules in such devices are typically contained in a layer of adhesive or binder having a greater cohesive strength than the microcapsule walls so that when the sheet bonded to the adhesive layer is pulled away, the microcapsule walls will be ruptured, producing an initial burst of fragrance. Further release of fragrance may then be obtained by scratching or rubbing the microcapsule-containing adhesive layer to rupture additional microcapsules.
Various sampler devices provided with a layer of rupturable microcapsules are disclosed in recent patents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,496, issued Jun. 21, 1988, to Fellows et al., discloses a sampler wherein powdered cosmetic material encapsulated and combined with a film-forming material is disposed as a coating on a non-removable substrate with a cover sheet aligned over the deposited coating. Adherence of the cosmetic coating to the substrate is controlled to permit the user to wipe it from the base sheet onto the user's skin. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,940,584 and 4,952,400, issued Jul. 10, 1990, and Aug. 28, 1990, respectively, to Tararuj et al., disclose samplers having a layer of fragranced powder particles or mixtures thereof with perfume-containing microcapsules and a binder deposited on a substrate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,755, issued Dec. 26, 1989, to Charbonneau, discloses a sampler in which a removable strip coated with microcapsules is disposed between sheets and is adhered to at least one of the sheets by a binder or adhesive. Removal of the strip by pulling it ruptures at least some of the microcapsules providing a burst of fragrance. U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,557, issued Jan. 29, 1991, to the same inventor, discloses a fragrance sampler device wherein pull-apart sheets have a layer of microcapsules disposed between the sheets in two zones, one of which is strongly bonded so that the microcapsules in this zone will rupture upon pulling the sheets apart, and the other weakly bonded, the microcapsules in the second zone being rupturable by gentle rubbing.
Schechter et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,910, issued Sep. 24, 1991, disclose a fragrance-releasing magazine insert having a removable unit made up of four sheets, two of which are adhesively bonded to a layer containing rupturable microcapsules. A strong release of fragrance is obtained by pulling the two sheets apart after they have been separated from the insert as part of a removable unit. This patent also discloses an image of a perfume bottle and cap printed on the insert.
It is desired to provide a sampler having a removable strip with fragrance-containing microcapsules adhered to a surface thereof and arranged so that the strip may be detached and removed without initial rupture of substantial numbers of the microcapsules. This will minimize the initial fragrance burst upon removal of the strip, most of the fragrance being reserved for release after being applied to the skin of the user. Another desired feature of samplers of products sold in a distinctive or expensive container, for example, fine perfume in "designer" bottles, is to incorporate in a sampler a simulation or replica of the container and its cap or closure with a fragrance-containing strip attached to the cap. This would encourage the user, when provided with instructions on the sampler, to remove the cap and attached strip and employ the strip as an applicator for the product. The sampler should also be amenable to fabrication by mass production methods using high-speed printing equipment such as web printing processes.